Smart Shopping Hacks for Great Deals

You want those Gucci Chain-link sunglasses. But they are $330 retail. Ouch. Still, they’d make you look like a CEO and feel like Trinity from the Matrix. Is the movie star effect you might get from the splurge worth the potential buyer’s remorse?

Luckily, you don’t always have to do battle with the angel/devil in your head. High-end goods like those Guccis (and low-end, too, for that matter) can be found at a steep discount if you game the system with these smart shopping strategies:

Use super precise search terms. Sounds easy, but what you are searching for and what you need to plug into a search engine aren’t always the same thing. For instance, if you type in “Gucci chain-link sunglasses” you get a list of different models that range in price from $250-$495—and most aren’t even the right ones.

To make your search results more profitable, you need to do some homework first. In this case, that means clicking on websites that sell the exact glasses you’re looking for and finding the model number. Once you've got it, try punching that in "Gucci 2772/S” and you’ll get hits as low as $193.45, on Amazon. (A site you’ve actually heard of rather than an obscure seller. Even better!) Now you’ve got yourself a great price. But you’re not done yet.

Suss out retailer coupons, discounts. Start with a search of coupon websites like www.retailmenot.com for a list of promo codes that could knock a percentage off your total or provide perks like free shipping; simply punch in the names of both the retailer and the product in the site’s search field. You can also search forums like www.fatwallet.com for rebates or unadvertised specials.

Altogether, you’ve just spent 10 extra minutes (max) to shave more than $130 off the retail price. Think about what you could save if you used these techniques for all your online shopping and we’re talking an amazing return on your investment of time. Now go snag those Gucci’s!